Innovation News

​Trenton, NJ ― Allison Cuttler, an AP Computer Science teacher at Uncommon Schools’ North Star Academy College Preparatory High School in Newark, attended the State of the State address on January 12 as a special guest of Governor Chris Christie.

In his address, the Governor called Cuttler “an inspiring teacher who embodies everything we could wish for from our education system.”

“She’s done incredible work to get more students at North Star interested in STEM subjects and careers,” Governor Christie said. “Today, for all her transformational work, she receives the thanks of a grateful state. Thank you Allison.”

​Josh Franks reports on Newark Inc. that in December, Cuttler won the prestigious national Milken Educator Award for inspiring her students and helping them see themselves as the future scientists they are to become.

The award came with a $25,000 prize. The trailblazing teacher also founded an afterschool “Girls Who Code” club, which has become one of the school’s most popular organizations.

The Governor said the state must continue to “improve our charter school system" in New Jersey to support teacher’s like Cuttler.

“If we choose to keep investing in and supporting innovation in our education system, there’s no reason we can’t achieve many more success stories,” Christie said. “There’s no reason we can’t have great schools in every community.”

Cuttler’s impact on the students at North Star has been invaluable. In only her second year teaching the challenging AP Computer Science course at North Star, all of her students passed the exam. That stands in contrast to a national pass rate for that subject of 64 percent.